Researchers in the field of the Bible and gender studies currently reach in diverse directions for resources. Feminist studies of the Bible appear in journals, monographs, dictionaries, and commentary series. Queer studies are found primarily in essays and in single-volume Bible commentaries. To learn how the gender theory developed in other disciplines has been applied to biblical studies, one must turn to journals and monographs. No single reference work brings all of this information together in one place.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Gender Studies provides a comprehensive and in-depth synthesis of this currently compartmentalized subdiscipline. Organized by keywords, this volume makes the vocabulary, insights, and debates within the field easier for researchers to consult. It is unique in including entries related to theory alongside those related to key biblical texts and characters.

The 'Bible' of its title includes Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish Bibles--covering Old Testament/Tanak, New Testament, and the deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha.